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About the course

Our School Direct programme is a 37 week, full time school-led course that leads to QTS and a PGCE with Master's credits.

You will be based at Aston Manor Academy for your training, but you will need to complete a short second placement with one of our partnership schools, this will give you a balance of experience across two contrasting school settings.

After your induction week, you will be based in school Monday-Thursday.On a Friday morning you will attend cross-phase taught sessions at our learning hub. These sessions are designed to give you an understanding of the elements of your professional role that lie outside of the national curriculum. These sessions are delivered by a range of speakers who are experts in their field.

Until February half-term you will have afternoon study support sessions to assist with the academic requirements of the course.

You will also attend twilight subject specific taught sessions to assist with you with planning, assessing and delivering your aspect of the national curriculum. These sessions will examine the particular nature of learning in your subject area and delivered by subject specialists from our partnership of schools.

As this is a school-led programme, you will spend the majority of your time in school learning from excellent practitioners. You will start by observing good practice in your placement school before starting to team teach alongside your designated school based trainer. You will then have the opportunity to deliver solo lessons before you begin your assessed teaching practice on a 50% timetable.

During your school placements you will be supported by your School Based Trainer (SBT) and a Professional Tutor (PT). You will have a weekly one-to-one with your SBT and regular meetings with your PT in order to review progress against the Teachers' Standards. In addition to this, you are also supported by a Subject Leader and our team of Titan ITT experts.

You will also find a number of ex-trainees in your placement schools, many of whom are in senior leadership roles, these too will prove a valuable source of guidance and support.

QTS is assessed by your classroom practice, a portfolio of evidence against the Teachers' Standards and a reflective practice folder.

The PGCE is assessed through 2 written assignments and 1 research task.

This is a demanding, although highly rewarding, course and we look forward to supporting you in all aspects.

Interview process

Following your successful application, you will be invited to join us for an interview at Aston Manor. As part of our interview process you will take part in:

A 30 minute lesson

A 10 minute presentation

A 40 minute formal interview

A 40 minute subject knowledge test (adapted GCSE paper)

A 10 minute short reflective written task.

How school placements work

You will have the experience of two school settings. Your main placement will be with Aston Manor Academy. Your second school experience will be for a minimum of 25 days, this experience is likely to take place in the second term of the course.

Fees

The course fees for 2019/2020 are as follows:

Student type

Fees to pay

UK students

£9,250

EU students

£9,250

Financial support

You could be eligible for either:

a scholarship of £28,000

a bursary of £26,000

To qualify for a scholarship you’ll need a degree of 2:1 or above in Physics or a related subject. For a bursary you’ll need a 2:2 or above in any subject.

You can’t claim both a bursary and a scholarship - you can only claim one.

Requirements

Qualifications

A Degree

GCSE English Grade C/4 or above

GCSE Maths Grade C/4 or above

Equivalent qualifications are accepted. Overseas qualifications will need to be confirmed by UK NARIC.

If you do not have the required GCSE qualifications you can still apply but you must have passed the necessary equivalency tests prior to starting the course. More information on our recognised equivalent GCSEs can be found here

Personal qualities

You will need to demonstrate a passion for your subject, education and making a difference to the lives of young people.

You will need to possess good time keeping skills and be able to prioritise your workload.

You will face many new challenges and will need to have the determination and resilience to meet these challenges and overcome any difficulties.

You need to have the ability to listen to advice and be able to act upon it. You will be offered constructive criticism on a regular basis which will be designed to help you improve your teaching skills.

Other requirements

Once you are accepted onto our course we will carry out a DBS and Fitness to Teach check.

Please ensure the references used on your UCAS application are of a professional nature. Where possible include a reference from a school if you have managed to gain any recent school experience.

About the training provider

Aston Manor Academy is an inner city school which caters for students from Year 7 through to Sixth Form. We have a diverse cultural mix of students who are keen to achieve. In our recent Ofsted report we were graded as an Outstanding Academy as we were awarded outstanding in all areas.

Exam results both at GCSE and Sixth Form have improved dramatically over the last seven years. Progress made by students now places the Academy in the top 1% of schools in the country; an outstanding achievement made possible by the students and staff who all work exceptionally hard. As an Academy, we are committed to ensuring that every child succeeds. Results for both vocational and academic courses at in our Sixth Form subjects are outstanding and 100% of our Year 13 students were successful in obtaining University places.

Our Initial Teaching Training Programme in association with the 'Titan Partnership' is well established and many programmes having been in action for over 15 years; we have employed many of our former trainees who have gone onto become strong middle and senior leaders.

We hope to provide all the trainees at AMA with the best possible support to ensure success at every level. The feedback we have had from our trainees has always been positive because of the support given by both ourselves and the course provider.

Training with disabilities and other needs

Aston Manor Academy is an inclusive provider. We will support you during your training year and make any reasonable adjustments to ensure we meet your specific needs.

Support and advice

Get support and advice about teaching

Register with Get into Teaching, the Department for Education’s free support and advice service, for personalised guidance from teaching experts. They can help you to prepare your application, book school experience, and access exclusive teaching events. You can also call them free on 0800 389 2500, or speak to an adviser using their online chat service, from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

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